Answers

I can contribute a little information about the SAL's Savannah yard.
During my career in labor relations with the RF&P and CSX, I used to
like to read the National Railroad Adjustment Board reports of labor
disputes on some of my favorite roads, such as the Seaboard. The
disputes usually involved operational situations and the presentation
of the case by the railroad and the union often provided interesting
facts about the railroad. In October, 1947, there was a dispute
between the SAL and its employees represented by the yardmasters'
union account the SAL abolished the second trick (4 p.m. to 12
midnight) Island Junction yardmaster job at Savannah Yard. The
following is quoted from the SAL's statement of facts in this case:

The Seaboard's Savannah, Ga. yard forms the junction point of the
Carolina and Alabama Divisions. It is the principal yard on the
Carolina Division with trains being operated into and out of it over
four main lines. It is substantial in size and physical lay-out,
therefore the description here will be limited to the points
pertinent to this case. The yard office is centrally located,
adjacent to the roundhouse and shops, and houses the Terminal
Trainmaster's office, telegraph operators, crew dispatchers, crew
boards, clerical force office space, records, etc. Approximately one-
half mile west of the yard office is a small building known as Island
Junction yard office. The latter is so named because it stands at
the western throat of Savannah yard proper where the Seaboard's main
lines from the East Carolina and Columbia Sub-Divisions of the
Carolina Division converge and form a junction with the main line
from the Alabama Division. The Island Junction office is not a yard
office in the sense that term is generally given. It merely houses a
radio and telephone, and affords space in which yard crews and carmen
eat their meals during inclement weather. The area immediately east
of the Island Junction office, between it and the yard office, is
used for receiving, breaking up, making up and dispatching trains.

Savannah Yard's main business is the handling of perishable shipments
moving from Florida to eastern and western markets, and returning
empty cars to Florida. The volumne of perishable shipments
fluctuates seasonally, and these fluctuations largely determine and
control the number of yardmasters, yard crews, carmen, shopmen, etc.
employed there.

On June 26, 1947, two way radios (receiving - sending sets) were
installed in the yard office, the Island Junction office, and on the
yard switch engines. The radio made it possible for the first time
for yardmasters stationed in the yard office to communicate directly
with the various yard engine crews. Prior to that time the yardmaster
in the yard office had no direct means of communicating with the
crews. Instructions from the yard office to a particular crew were
telephoned to the yardmaster of assistant yardmaster at Island
Junction, and the latter then went to the location at which the
desired crew was working and gave them verbal instructions.

I also forgot to add that SAL had another crossing over ACL about a
mile south of Alabama Junction. I've seen it called S-A-M (Sav'h,
Americus & Montgomery) Junction but that doesn't make much sense
since the line was the original FC&P main from old Savannah Yard to
Jacksonville. There was no interchange here either. I want to do
a "steam era" article on the SAL in Savannah for Lines someday...all
I have to do is talk Ye Maximus Editor into it!

John modestly omitted mention of his fine 2-part series on Savannah
in the 4th quarter 98 and 1st quarter 99 issues of Lines South. These
articles have a lot of great general Savannah history in them, and
both issues have maps showing all the old junctions. The Society's
Orange Blossom Special book also has some information on 2 more SAL
junctions, Orange and Blossom. To say the old Savannah trackage
network was complicated would be an understatement.

Alabama Junction was, and still is, in the center of SAL's operations
in the Savannah area. It was originally the crossing of the SAL
Alabama Division line over the ACL's double track main. In the late
1930s, SAL built a passenger cutoff around Savannah to better serve
the Meteor and the O-B-S trains. This "passenger main" connected to
the SAL line just south of Alabama Junction. Alabama Junction still
exists, but is now part of the Ga Central. For the record, SAL and
ACL did not interchange cars at Alabama Junction.

Union Junction was on the ACL near Derst Bakery, about a mile north
of North Tower and Southover Yard. Union Junction was used to gain
access to Savannah Union Station track.